Wannabe Heroine
by Formidame
Summary: When Estelle runs away from her home, she plans to go to her brother in Falconreach and live a peaceful life. Unfortunately, a certain priestess has other plans in mind. The DragonFable game, retold.
1. Prologue

They say there are people destined for great things.

Bullshit.

No matter what that shitty white priestess tells you, no one is meant to do something since the day they were born. It's not like you pop into the world, and then some higher powers just randomly decide, "Hey, won't it be interesting if in twenty years this poor fella will have to save a kingdom? Yeah, that will definitely entertain us. Let's make him do that when the time comes." No fucking way.

I don't believe in this. I _refuse_ to believe in this. I refuse to accept the idea of me having no control over my life. That no matter what course of action I choose, in the end it would all still be the same because I have some stupid destiny that I was meant to achieve. No thank you, I have a much better theory.

Just like there's a chance that even though all of your relatives and ancestors had black hair but you would be born a ginger, there's a chance you'll walk in the forest and stumble upon a dying elemental that will transfer its elemental powers to you. Not a likely scenario, but it had happened before. And even though it sucks to know that some really unlikely possibility might ruin your plans and drag you into some mess, I'll take that any day over destiny that will do that for sure.

Chance is the only thing that could make me run away from home on the same day Lady Celestia took a trip to Oaklore Forest on the same day a Gorillaphant hunted for pray on the road to Oaklore Keep. Chance is the only thing that could make all three of us meet. Chance is the only thing that could make an inexperienced girl like me defeat a large, rampaging, fanged beast, two bandits and a hydra. Chance, not destiny. I could've run away an hour later, I could've ignored that moglin's call for help, I could've died. Chance, not destiny, is the only thing that made all of those things possible. I will not accept any other thing.

When there's chance you could always just ignore it. When there's chance you could always turn it down and walk away. Unless you're like me. And then you're screwed.


	2. There's a new heroine in town

This is my first story, hope you enjoy it :)

There's a new heroine in town

The tips of the trees in Oaklore Forest revealed the sky, which was as blue as my mother's eyes. It seemed as if I had nowhere to hide from her. No matter where I went, her strong gaze followed me, watching every single step I took.

I could almost see her walking around the house with a murderous expression on her face, while my father sat on the couch silently, afraid to say anything to her. She had always worn the pants in the house, and perhaps if my dad would've been more of a man, he and I would've had a different relationship. But alas, he couldn't have been called a man even if he would've shown his balls to you in an attempt of verification.

My mother would've probably found out about my escape by now.

Oh, how I imagined her screams echo through the town, waking up peaceful folk and scaring my father shitless. My letter to her was one of my most clever ideas – I think I might've discovered some secret literary talent while I was writing it – ironic and sad, with a bit of comedy and action, and in the end was a blessing to her with my favorite word starting with 'F'. My big brother wasn't as creative. He just studied his ass off to be accepted into the Guardians Academy and left as the golden boy of the village. My farewell was so much better.

Though my planning was much worse than his, as I was tired from the endless walking, with nothing in my bag but half-eaten bread and twenty coins of gold, that were my entire life-savings. Even though the rucksack on my back contained nothing but those two along with a few shirts, slacks and my old teddy bear, it felt heavy as hell, sending a jolt of pain through my shoulders with every step that I took.

I cursed myself for being so impulsive and running away without thinking it through, but I simply couldn't be in that house anymore. It was one thing to live with them while I was underage and had take all of my mother's bullshit and my father's lack of involvement, but it was entirely another thing to be of age, take my mother's bullshit and my father's lack of involvement, and being set-up for marriage with the least promising bachelor of our miserable town. You see, my mom was one of those conservatives, thinking that once a girl becomes of age she must marry immediately. But to think that she though a suitable suitor for me was the Baker's son, who girls didn't want to be near him at all, was so insulting that when I first heard of it I almost broke my promise to myself not to cry in front of her. I knew I wasn't the most attractive girl in the village, but this… this was plain cruelty. I deserved better. Or at least she had to think that way. If my mother wouldn't think I deserved the best, then who would?

And so not even a week after the announcement I packed my things and ran away. I couldn't care less where I was running; the only thing that matter is that I was running from there. That godforsaken town and that godforsaken family. And all of the aching and pain in the world was worth it.

Even though I was hungry, tired, and in need of a warm bed, it was all worth it.

My legs gave a throb of protest when I took another step towards the direction of Oaklore Keep, my destination for today. My plan was to go to Falconreach and crash at my brother's place, but it was too much of distance to walk for one day and so I knew I'd have to spend the night in Oaklore Keep. At least I hoped so, if my treacherous legs would take me there before nightfall.

"Stop bitching, Estelle." I murmured to myself, but still leaned against a tree and let out a sigh of pleasure when I felt the relief in my legs.

The forest was truly beautiful, the browns and greens calming and relaxing to look at. The tall trees were a nice shade from the summer sun and the light breeze was refreshing and hope-giving to my tired body. A few more minutes of rest, I urged myself, and then back to walking. Oaklore Keep must not be too far.

I was so relaxed that when the mighty roar sliced through the air I jumped so high I must've broken some record. I couldn't see the source of the roar, but it was still so loud and I couldn't help but shiver in fear of what might've made such a loud noise.

Not even a second after, accompanied with a squeaky yell, something red landed not too far from me, and it took me a moment to realize that it was a moglin. A freaking moglin that fell from the sky in the middle of the forest. What were the chances?

It groaned in pain as I approached it, and when I stood in front of it and looked down at the red creature, its black button eyes opened and stared right into my own brown orbs.

"Are you ok?" I asked, more out of politeness than anything else, as I helped it to its feet.

"Are you an adventurer?" His voice was as high as his yell.

"What? No!" I said quickly. I was not about to be confused with those adrenalin junkies. Honestly, the last thing I looked like with my white shirt and black slacks was an adventurer. Those were almost always warriors, mages or thieves, and as much as I knew they didn't dress like this. They wouldn't stand a chance against beasts wearing this. "I was just passing by."

"You have to help! The priestess is in trouble!" The moglin grabbed my hand and with surprising strength tugged me to the direction he came – or fell – from.

I tried to resist as much as I could without hurting the little fella. "Wait! I told you I'm not an adventurer! I can't help your priestess! I don't have any skills or experience!"

But I was too late with my reasoning, because suddenly we came into a clearing in the forest and I understood what had made that roar.

I could see the so-called priestess, her tall, lean posture calm and firm. Her dressings were an unbelievable shade of white, and I couldn't help but wonder how the hell they stayed so clean after a walk in a forest. Her face was hidden inside her white hood, making it impossible to understand what she was feeling at the moment. Probably what I was feeling. The desire to get as far from the large, hairy, grey creature that stood with its back to me as I could.

The beast made sniffing sounds and I watched in complete dread as it turned around it massive body and revealed its ugly face to me. I immediately recognized the gorillaphant by its large tusks, faintly red from previous meals, no doubt. Now how the fuck was I supposed to deal with something like that!?

"Hey! I told you I wasn't an adventu-" my scolding of the moglin was cut short by the raging yell of the gorillaphant, who raised its muscular, hairy arms and started to race to my direction.

I all but jumped out of the beast's way, completely forgetting about the moglin that squealed and ducked, luckily small enough to fit between the gorillaphant's legs. The priestess watched us in silence, too mighty to try and help a poor girl and a worthless moglin, apparently.

"How the fuck do you expect me to battle a gorillaphant!?" I shouted at the moglin. The red creature stared at me with his button eyes before grabbing a stick from the ground and holding it awkwardly as a makeshift weapon, his expression solemn as he was ready to defend the priestess at all costs. He was either really brave or really stupid. Most likely stupid.

"Oh, fuck…" I threw my bag off my shoulders, watching the gorillaphant turn around and get ready for another attack. "Think, come on, think." I tried to recall everything my beasts' studies teacher had taught us about these creatures. How I wished I would've listened to her more, even though she was boring as hell and I fell asleep during almost her every lesson.

Gorillaphants weren't particularly smart, but I could tell that by the way it charged at me aimlessly, not caring about anything but smashing my body. Its entire body seemed to be covered in thick muscles that were probably very hard to pierce, even with a sword, with the exception of its head… that was its weak spot! So the only think I needed to do was aim for the beast's head. Easier said than done.

I scanned the forest's floor for some sort of weapon I could use (and one that would've been more effective than the moglin's stick). Sticks, more sticks, some dried leaves… there was nothing I could use that could do any damage to the creature. How the hell had I managed to get myself into this shit only a few hours after I had done my breakout from the house of doom? My mother's words rang in my ears, saying how incapable I was of being on my own, unlike my brother, and a moment of doubt struck me. Perhaps she was right. Perhaps I really couldn't take care of myself. Perhaps I was relying on my parents more than I realized. Perhaps running away was a mistake.

 _No._

No, I repeated to myself. It was not a mistake. That woman was the reincarnation of Ebil. I was not going to let her words get to me. Nothing that bitch had said to me mattered. I was capable. I was perfectly fine on my own. I didn't need her. I didn't need anybody but me.

My eyes fell on a sharp-looking stone not too far away from me. Exactly what I needed, although a little bit out of reach. I had to make a run for it. It was ironically convenient that then the gorillaphant lunged at me and tackled me with its muscular body, its arms flinging me to the side. I hit a tree with a painful thud, groaning loudly and hearing the blood freezing crack of one of my bones, which I couldn't tell just yet. I fell to the ground and stood up, panting and trying to stay focused on the somewhat blurred shape of the beast, which was readying itself to the position to tackle me again.

I moved to the left, hoping to dodge the attack, but the foot hit something hard and I looked at the sharp stone I had marveled not even a minute ago. It fit nicely in my hand as I held it to dear life with its sharp end pointed at the creature.

The gorillaphant lunged again. This time, against all of my screaming instincts, I didn't even try to dodge. The easiest way for me to reach the beast's head was to be grabbed by him.

A hairy grey hand closed around my waist forcefully, squeezing my body like a rugged doll. I couldn't suppress the whimper of pain, momentarily forgetting about everything but it. A second later I tightened the grip around the sharp stone, and with a loud war cry struck the gorillaphant's head.

My attack was much weaker than I hoped, but the hairy creature roared in pain nonetheless. I struck again, this time watching in satisfaction as blood started oozing for the wound I had inflicted. When I struck the third time, the gorillaphant's tight grip began losing, and by the fourth time I hit its head, it gave one last groan and fell to the ground.

Luckily, the beast let go of me before collapsing, and I managed to dodge its heavy body from crashing mine. I heaved heavily, still lying on the ground, both of my hand on my heart, feeling its quickened pace through my ribcage.

A minute passed before I stood up, and when I did a wave of nausea washed over me. I had the urge to throw up, yet somehow I didn't. Strand of chestnut hair fell on my eyes, and I moved them away with a blooded hand.

"Thank you for saving me." For a second I thought I was hallucinating. It was the most beautiful voice I had ever heard, almost like a melody to my ears. I raised my head to see the white priestess.

I walked towards her, limping in my left leg. Up close, I could see her beautiful face, her hair a few shades from white and her dark grey eyes warm and cool at the same time. The red moglin stood next to her, his button eyes watching around us in alert, looking for any other danger.

"I told your moglin friend that I wasn't an adventurer. All of us could've been easily killed." I said, noticing that my voice was a bit rasped, most likely from screaming in pain before.

"Willy and I had confidence in you." She replied. I scoffed and rolled my eyes. The adrenalin had begun to fade away from my systems, and the begging of a tingling appeared in some parts of my body. "May I know your name?"

"It's Estelle." I said.

The priestess smiled in a knowing smiled, not offering her name in return. The moglin – Willy – was about to say something, but she cut him before he could. "You are hurt." She stated calmly.

It was true, I realized. The more seconds passed, the more I was alert to the pain all over my body. My leg, arms, back and head seemed to have suffered most, and I was beginning to suspect I had a concussion as well.

It was just my luck. Not even a day on my own and I had nearly died already.

"Don't worry." The priestess said, "They will provide you with medical care in Oaklore Keep." She brushed invisible dust off her stark white robe. "And while you're there, would you please let Captain Rolith know that we're taking the shortcut?"

"W-What? Who's Captain Rolith?" I asked, but a sudden dizziness took over and I fell into blackness, noticing the priestess smile and turn to somewhere in the right direction before fading away.

When I opened my eyes, I was expecting to see the green of the forest's trees, but instead was surrounded by shades of white and brown.

I tried to sit up, but failed miserably. Pain and dizziness shot through my body like a shock from an energy elemental, and I groaned loudly as I laid back. Some parts of my body felt numb, others were throbbing painfully. Not a nice feeling to be awoken to, let me tell you.

"Oh, good. You're awake."

This time I only raised my head, and even then I felt extremely dizzy and disoriented. The one who spoke was a man dressed as a healer in the other corner of the room. He was in his late thirties, tall and lean, his red hair neatly combed in place. In one of his hand he was holding an open rucksack, in the other an old teddy bear.

"That's my bag." I croaked, my throat dry. The thought of a complete stranger going through my stuff – my personal, dear belongings – was unsettling.

"It is." The man apparently needed to confirm the obvious. "They picked it up along with you. You're not an adventurer, are you? Nothing in this bag indicates so. Considering your age, you're most likely just a reckless runaway, am I right?"

"I'm not reckless. I had my reasons." I immediately countered; annoyed that he'd made such an assumption. Even though I would've probably done the same. "Who are you? Where am I?"

The man stood up from his seat and approached me. "I am Sir Junn of the Pactogonal Table." I have heard of them before, though I knew little of who they actually were. "You are in my infirmary in Oaklore Keep. Couple of knights were returning from a mission when they stumbled upon you about an hour ago." He raised his brow playfully. "You haven't been eating your apple a day, have you?"

Well, at least I was in Oaklore Keep. Part one of my escape plan – accomplished. "There was a gorillaphant…" I said. Sir Junn nodded as if confirming my words. "And a moglin, and this white lady… She said something about giving a message for Captain Ro… Rolith, I think."

"A message for Captain Rolith?" Sir Junn repeated. "From a white la… Oh."

He didn't say anything else. He jolted out of the room as if running from Ebil itself. Not even a minute passed and he returned, along with another man. He was dressed in armor that covered his impressive form with metal. The skin of his face and hands was tanned, from the many missions he had participated in, no doubt, and his golden hair was messy. His green eyes looked nervous and alerted to me, and I knew immediately that I was in some deep shit.

"You saw the priestess? What massage did she have for me?" He stood tall and mighty next to my cot, looking like a gryphon before an attack.

"Uh, yeah…" I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat. "She said something about taking the short cut."

It was almost comical how fast the colors on Rolith's face changed. At first it turned white. Then, green flooded his face, soon replaced by purple. Red was the last, coloring his faces the shade of a tomato.

"WHAT!?" he roared. "She's not going to stop here at the Keep? The forest is crawling with bandits that are looking for her!" He rubbed his temple with a large hand. "Sometimes I think she's messing with us all out of boredom. She's in grave danger."

Well… that sounded promising.

So this priestess was a troll by default, then. I was somewhat glad she was confusing not only to me. She seemed like someone important, though, if this captain was so riled up about her well-being. Or maybe they were just fucking.

"We must go after her." Rolith declared. Then, turning to me, he said. "Where did you meet with the priestess?"

"Somewhere in the Oaklore forest." I had a hard time thinking of a specific detail that could indicate it was the place. "…there were trees, many trees… that's all I can say."

"But you'll be able to identify the place?"

I had a sick feeling it was about to go down. "U-uh… yeah, I think so."

"Then get up. We must waste no time."

I was about to tell Rolith to shove it, but Sir Junn cut me to it. "Captain! You can't take her with you! Look at her – broken leg, dislocated shoulder, a concussion! She's not one of your knights – she is not used to injuries like that!"

"I was told she slayed a gorillaphant." Rolith interjected. He gave me a long look, before continuing. "We can give you a potion. You'll feel as good as new. And you'll get paid as if you've been on a mission, and you will be treated for free and welcomed to stay in Oaklore Keep until you recover. What do you say?"

I weighed his proposition. It was quite tempting – I was indeed in need of money, and all I had to do was to show Rolith the place I met the priestess. Nothing more. He was also offering me free medical treatment and a place to stay for the time being, which I was in desperate need of.

It took me only another moment to respond. "Deal."

Sir Junn looked like he was going to protest, but decided against it at the last moment. He just let out a loud sigh and went to one of the shelves. From there he retrieved a red potion stored in a small, round veil of sorts. He kneeled before me. "Have you ever conceived a potion like this?"

I shook my head and he sighed once more. "Great, just great. Well, listen up. This potion will numb your pain and will give you a dose of energy. You'll feel great, as if you're ready to take over the world, but please remember that it doesn't heal you. It's just gives you the feeling that he has. Don't lean on your left leg too much. Don't use your left arm. The potion will wear off in a couple of hours, and by then please don't hurt yourself even more."

"Yes, mother." I replied sarcastically, resisting the urge to roll my eyes at him. He sighed again, but didn't say anything else.

When I downed the red liquid in the veil, my tongue could taste something slightly bitter, but that was all I felt. A moment passed, then another, and I still felt like I had a minute ago. "Are you sure the potion hasn't expired becau- Oh."

It was majestic and terrifying at the same time. A wave of adrenalin washed over me like a thousand coffees consumed at the same time. Sir Junn wasn't joking – it _did_ feel like I was ready to take over the world. The pain was completely gone, and I all but jumped out of bed, my mouth open in a vomit of words. "Oh shit, this is fucking amazing! Who was the genius that made this? He's a fucking genius! It's so amazing! Now, let's go! We can't waste any time – there's a priestess bitch's ass to save!"

All I received in return was two gaping mouths and silence.

Ten minutes later, Rolith and I, along with two other knights, were searching through the woods for a shitty white lady.

The adrenalin bust had faded away slightly, but my body was still buzzing with energy. The sun was still high above us, and I felt the grey shirt I wore go more dump with every step with took. I was given new clothes to change to – because apparently, my old ones were completely torn and see-through, as Rolith kindly explained to me before – and looked like they belonged to a young knight in training.

We have already passed the corpse of the gorillaphant I had killed before, and I was impressed with myself that I had gotten alive out of a fight with a beast like that. I had only wished my mother could've seen this, so I could laugh her in the face for saying that I was incapable of taking care of myself.

"I still don't know your name." Rolith said to me as we were walking. A layer of sweat covered his forehead, but he didn't seem to mind.

"It's Estelle."

He gave me a polite nod. "Thank you for saving the priestess, Estelle. You have done something of great importance. Perhaps even saved the world."

It took me a moment to understand what he had said, and when I did, I gaped at him. The two knights beside me chuckled. "I'm sorry, what?"

Rolith didn't answer; instead he stopped walking and addressed the knights. "We shall split up to cover more ground. Sir Prize, you go west. Sir Valence – east. I shall go north."

"Hey! What about me!?" I asked, crossing my arms in annoyance.

"You will stay here." Rolith instructed. "I will not have Sir Junn even more crossed at me for bringing you into a battle. But…" He took one of the two swords that were strapped to his belt and handed it over to me. "Just in case."

The sword was lighter than I expected, most likely made with gnome technology, and I accepted it with a nod. Rolith was right in some way – I was already half beaten by that gorillaphant, I didn't need to be even more hurt.

The three members of the Pactogonal Table took off, and I was left alone with the sword. The grey steel of the double-edged blade was polished to perfection and the handle was clean and comfortable to hold. A gust of wind ruffled my hair, and I moved some bangs from my eyes. And that was when I heard it.

"Give the box priestess, and we'll kill you quickly." The voice was far away, almost not reaching my ears, but I still managed to hear it.

It came from the direction Sir Prize went to, yet he didn't seem to interfere with the attempt on the priestess' life. Where was he? Why hadn't he done something already? My conscience was urging me to act, but my mind was constantly reminding me that I couldn't afford to be anymore hurt.

Eventually the conscience won. Cursing myself under my breath, I crept into the direction the voice came from. It was closer than I anticipated, and a few minutes later I could see the white robes of the priestess. In her hands was a black box I hadn't noticed she carried before, and the white lady was clutching it as if her life depended on it. It most likely did.

In front of her was a man, clad in a strange-looking armor. He was holding a sword that was pointed at the priestess, his intent clear as day.

I had to help her. It was pretty obvious I couldn't fight this bandit dude, but I could stall until one of the knights came – Sir Prize must be close by, and with the right actions the other knights could know where we were as well. All I had to do was be smart about. I needed to take a moment to think of a plan and-

"Oh, hello Estelle."

Son of a bitch.

Even as she clutched the black box for dear life, the priestess' face looked so calm and composed as she addressed me, as if she had noticed me while having a pleasant conversation and not being threatened. It was both admirable and terrifying. But why on earth did she feel the need to blow my cover!?

I had to step out of the bushes, and I did it very slowly, taking as much time as possible to think of a plan. Sadly, I had none. "Oh, priestess! Fancy meeting you here!" My voice was coated with so much fakeness; even the deaf could hear it. "How are you? How is uncle John? Still ill? Oh – I didn't see you had company."

"There's no time for that Estelle, you must protect the black box at all cost."

At that moment exactly I had decided that the priestess was simply trolling us all.

"Ok, plan A was blown…" I murmured under my breath. "Time for plan B… Priestess, put the box aside and sit down. This may take a while… Listen, pal." I addressed the bandit. "I don't know who you are or why do you want the black box-"

His tanned face lit up with anger, the green orbs of his eyes sparkling. "My name is DRAKATH! I am the leader of the Darkwolf bandits and the rightful ruler of this land."

"Yeah, ok, Mr. Drake- tooth- whatever. Look, I'm sure you're a reasonable guy. There are at least twenty members of the Pactogonal Table searching for the priestess," so I was exaggerating a bit. "And they will be here any moment now. I kinda like you – "so I was exaggerating a lot, "So I'll let you go before they arrive. I'll even say that you were the scariest bandit I've ever seen, if that's what will make you feel better."

"Shut up, you stupid wench." Dra… Drak… the bandit cut me off, quite rudely may I add. "That box is the key to my throne, and there's no way that I'm letting a _peasant_ like you to keep it from me."

"Wow, no need to be rude." This guy was getting more and more on my nerves. "Is it because your daddy didn't like you as a child, or is it because you looked in the mirror this morning?"

I immediately regretted my decision to insult him, as one of the two things (if not both) hit a nerve and the bandit pointed his very sharp-looking sword at me. "I will repeat it only one more time. Stand down you foolish girl, or like the trash that you are, you will be blown away by the winds of my great destiny. I won't mind beating you up, but I'm feeling generous after seeing that your face has caused you enough misery in life."

"It's not usually like that!" I defended, touching the bruises on my face self-consciously. I couldn't feel any pain, but the flesh was swollen under my fingertips. "I was going to just take the box, but you just made it personal Drakey! Prepare to face my wrath!"

I took a deep breath, preparing myself mentally for what I was about to do, and then began screaming like my life depended on it. Which it did. "ROLITH! SIR PRIZE! SIR VALENCE! HELP! BANDIT OVER HERE! BLACK BOX! RAPE! MURDER! FASHION CRIME!"

My voice echoed through the forest, and I knew there was no way the knights didn't hear me. Unfortunately, the bandit knew it too. The look he sent my way was of pure Ebil, his eyes looking ready to kill. "Get her!" He commanded, and my triumph died out as I watched in horror the two additional bandits that jumped down from the trees.

I barely deflected the main bandit's – Drakath, I finally realized his name was – attack. The collision of our swords sent a shock wave through my arm and I barely managed to not drop it to the forest floor.

I was already panting when I pushed Drakath away and stepped back to a safe distance from the three bandits. The bandit king didn't waste any time, marching on me with a war cry. I didn't manage to deflect this time, and even through the numbing of the potion I took, I felt his sword cut the skin on my left arm. I winced in slight pain, but wasted no time in kicking him in the crotch. He groaned and backed away, making place for one of his minion.

The other bandits were much easier to fight than Drakath. They were much less experienced than him – almost on my level of experience. Adjusting my grip on the sword in my hands, I side-stepped one of the bandits and _waved_ with the sword experimentally. The feeling of cutting flesh turned out to be quite unpleasant. The bandit roared in pain when my sword cut his back and fell on the ground, clutching the wound with both of his arms.

The other minion watched his companion in horror and then looked at me with vengeance in his eyes. I met his sword with my own, the clash creating a screech of metals. He raised his arm to attack again, but I was quicker – weight difference truly matters, as it turned out – and now stabbed him with much more confidence than I had before. He fell next to his bandit-friend, groaning and moaning.

My eyes locked with Drakath's. "You are better than I originally thought, I'll give you that." He said, standing up from his crouched position. My kick must've been not as strong as I hoped.

"That's actually really sad for you. I'm basically a rookie." I smiled nastily at him.

"Oh, it is so obvious that you're a rookie. The way you move, the way you hold your sword… you may have defeated two noobs in a battle, but you're no match for me."

Sadly, he was right. I was most likely just lucky with those two bandits, but luck wasn't enough to defeat Drakath. He and I were on two entirely different leagues. There was simply no way for me to defeat him in combat. That left me only the option to outsmart him, and even that required me to stop and think for some time – time that I didn't have. I could try to call out for the knights again, but this will only alert Drakath even more and he'll attack more quickly. Perhaps I could buy more time by taunting or stroking the bandit's ego, but I needed to figure out what was more effective. Or perhaps-

"I'm afraid your battle has just been rendered useless. The black box was stolen by a sneevil mere seconds ago."

It was actually pretty comical how Drakath and I shouted _"What!?"_ in perfect sync.

The priestess' face was calm and composed, as if she hadn't just delivered her own death blow. There was a moment of silence, in which my mind slowly comprehended what was about to happen.

"What did you just say..?" Drakath couldn't seem to believe it. His face was red, the vein on his forehead pulsing dangerously underneath his ebony locks. "The box... the… I'm going to fucking kill you."

I reacted on instinct I never knew I had. Blocking his sword with my own, I stood between him and the priestess. There was no way I was going to die for the shitty white lady, but I wasn't going to let her get murdered before my eyes either.

"If you don't step aside, peasant wench, I'm going to kill you too. Don't bother me, and I'll let you run along to the dirty farm you came from." The bandit growled, his stare filled with killing intent.

"Lady Celestia!" Rolith's distant voice was music to my ears. "Estelle!"

Finally. Finally someone decided to show up. Relief washed over me in a welcoming wave, and I almost let out a sigh. They were here. I was safe. Finally

"I bet you wish you took my offer now, don't you Drakey?" I smirked deviously at him.

He cursed silently, what I'd like to think as concern flashing on his tanned face. "You got lucky this time, warrior."

Warrior? Me? Oh my god. Never would've thought I'd hear that.

"I will remember you, wench. So I can destroy you."

I swallowed, not even ashamed to admit that his sinister threat had affected me. But I was, of course, my usual self. I was too damn prideful to look frightened. "Then remember my name too. Estelle. The wench who beat you."

"Oh, I'll remember. You can count on that."

With that, he pulled out of his pants' pocket two small spheres, and threw them on the ground. Smoke erupted from them, and after I was done coughing my _lungs_ out, Drakath was already gone.

How rude…

"What a lovely encounter was that." I heard lady Celestia comment from behind me.

Honestly, her permanently calm voice was starting to get on my nerves. Was she on drugs or something? "You!" I spun around to face her. "Why on earth did you call me out of my hiding place!?"

"I thought you needed a slight push." She replied. "And I must thank you for the rescue. Though I think you might have got carried away with the smack-talking, since the box was taken by a passing sneevil."

"What was in that box, by the way?" I raised my eyebrows curiously at her. "Why did Drakath wanted it so much?"

"An egg." The priestess said. "I'm glad you're taking such an interest in the Black Dragon Box. You must recover it before it falls into the wrong hands."

I sighed heavily. "What? Why me? Do I have to remind you that I'm not an adventurer?"

"You're right. You're not an adventurer. You're a heroine."

I blinked once. Then twice. Did she… did she just call me a heroine? Twice in the past ten minute I had been called things I never imagined I would've heard associated with me.

"Travel to Falconreach and meet with Twilly. He has friends who will be able to help you find that sneevil."

"No no, wait. I didn't agree to anything!" I couldn't let her drag me into whatever mess she was in. "I am going to Falconreach, but don't think that I'm going to search across Lore for some box with an egg in it. You have an entire set of knights at your disposal. You don't need me."

"I am glad we made clear that you are traveling to Falconreach." The white lady smiled politely at me, completely ignoring my speech. "Oh, Captain Rolith! How lovely to see you again."

The knights had finally arrived, the three of them heaving and sweating. "Priestess!" Rolith exclaimed, bowing. "My lady! Why had you not listened to us!? You always take shortcuts that turn out to be much more dangerous than the regular path!"

"Forgive me, I simply thought I would enjoy the view here more." Celestia turned her smiley face to the knight. "If you'll excuse me, now that everything has been arranged with Estelle, I am going to teleport back home and have some tea. Have a wonderful day."

My jaw dropped, and I stared at the spot where she stood only a second ago. "Did you know she could teleport?"

"No." Rolith replied. "But it makes sense to me. What did the lady mean by saying everything has been arranged with you?"

I groaned. "She said I need to meet Twilly and recover the black box from a sneevil. Why on earth would she think I was suitable for that!?"

"I don't know." Rolith replied honestly. "But you managed to defeat the bandits that were threatening the priestess. You are more capable than you think."

His words sank in slowly on the way back to Oaklore Keep. All my life I had been told how inept I was, but not even a day on my own and I already managed to kill a gorrilaphant and stay alive in a battle against a seasoned bandit. But Rolith and especially Celestia were exaggerating. As much as I hated to admit, most of it was probably luck.

I had always strayed from titles such as 'Hero', and now when someone had labeled me as one, it made me very confused and tense.

We reached the Keep, and before gathering a meeting of knights in order to discuss what had happened, Rolith had left me with the clear instructions of going to the infirmary and staying there, but after he departed I stood at the middle of the yard, clueless as to what I should do – with my life in general.

"Hey, did you hear? There's a new heroine in town."

My eyes widened sharply and I shrieked involuntarily. How would they know that!?

My eyes landed on a pair of knights, one of them handing a pack of something white to the other, and realization hit me like a brick.

Hurrying to the infirmary, the only thought in my head was that all of this shit was making me too nervous. Perhaps staying in my small town was better for me. Or at least for my blood pressure.

A new heroine my ass.

Thank you for reading! Reviews are appreciated ;)


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